Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $500 of 2022

If it was about 5 years ago, a gaming PC could be up to thousands of dollars, to play games with strong configurations. Today, however, PCs are priced much lower. You do not have to spend a large amount of money, but just around $500 or even less to be able to play most games on the market. Of course, the corresponding graphics criteria must also be significantly reduced. Components such as processor chips, video cards and RAM, and SSD hard drives will also be options with a fairly low or moderate value.

Right below is a list of some of the best prebuilt Gaming PCs under $500 that we can recommend to you:

1. HP i7 Gaming Computer 

The first candidate on this list is the HP i7 Gaming Computer, which owns an Intel Quad-Core i7 2600 chip. While its integrated graphics performance is nothing special, it offers acceleration for multicast applications. convenience is very respectable - outperforming other comparable solutions like Phenom II from AMD or Intel's current Core i5, i7. In addition, the 128GB Solid State Drive + 1TB Backup Hard Drive will make this prebuilt HP i7 worth it for $499 USD. 

And the highlight of this candidate comes from the Nvidia GeForce GT 730 4K Video Card 4GB graphics card, compared to the competitor's product line with the same money, the NVIDIA GT730 has the advantage of stability with an optimized driver package with quite a lot of games, especially with Online Games that are on the market. Overall, the GT 730 succeeds successfully in replacing the GT 630 and is a good product in the mainstream segment, eliminating any doubts about 64-bit communication.

On a budget under $500, we rate the HP i7 Gaming Computer as the best option for you.

2. Dell Optiplex 9020 Tower Computer Gaming Desktop 

Dell has always been a highly regarded computer company in terms of customer satisfaction. Although the design is a bit crude in some products, in return, the price segment is very rich. Dell Optiplex 9020 Tower Computer Gaming Desktop - which sells for $459.82 is the best evidence. With a fairly strong configuration in the mid-range, owning Intel Core i5 CPU, 16GB Ram and MSI GeForce GT 730 video card, this Gaming PC can completely play many games at medium to pretty graphics settings . But with titles like LOL, Dota 2, Fifa online, Dell Optiplex 9020 Tower Computer Gaming Desktop can completely bring you the highest standard of gaming experience.

Driven by 4GB dedicated video memory to quickly render high-quality images for videos and games, is what Dell introduces about this gaming PC. And you can count on that, because after all, this is a PC built for gaming purposes.

3. HP Z230 Workstation Gaming Computer Desktop 

The HP Workstations Z230 is designed with the desire to give users work productivity flexibility when the HP Z230 creates a work environment for those who need stability and performance at a perfectly reasonable budget. In addition, the computer is also equipped with new generation processors, with good graphics for gamers' purpose of gaming. 

When using HP Z230 computer users will experience the power and power efficiency from the latest Intel CPU series. Especially with E3-1200 v3 family processors, 4th generation Intel Core processors meeting the graphics processing needs of games requiring high configuration.

HP Workstations Z230 computer uses main chipset Intel C226, 4th generation Intel processor and Xeon E3 family v3, Intel Core i, Intel Pentium to help bring high performance to meet big workload for game, design and graphics processing. There are 4 DDR3 ram slots for maximum support up to 32GB ECC/ non-ECC DDR3/ DDR3L bus 1600. Form SFF has 2 3.5 inch hard drive bays and 1 2.5 ”tray. Furthermore, HP Workstation Z230 integrated SATA Controller supports RAID 0.1 to improve performance and protect data safety.

Plus, you can upgrade your PC easily with the PCIe Gen3 x16 port. The HP Z230 connects to a USB 3.0 port for high-speed transmission.

4. Lenovo 510A Desktop 

Contributing in this list is a Gaming PC from Lenovo - Lenovo 510A Desktop priced at $499 USD. Equipped with AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6GHz processor and built-in AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics so you need a discrete graphics card. Offering high performance, fast processing speed, and plenty of easy-to-upgrade features, the Leonovo 510A Desktop will be a good fit for gamers who love convenience and up-to-date.

With great performance at an affordable price, the Lenovo 510A Desktop is also a good choice when you're in need of the best prebuilt Gaming PCs under $500. In particular, the exterior design of this Gaming PC is also quite stylish and compact.

5. Dell Gaming 990 Desktop Computer Optiplex 

Last on this list is the Dell Gaming 990 Desktop Computer Optiplex - a PC equipped with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 for powerful graphics. With Intel Core i7-2600 3.4GHz Max Turbo Frequency 3.8GHz 8 HyperThreads chip, this Gaming PC will delight you with complex tasks in parallel with your gaming experience.

Equipped with 16GB RAM and a hard drive up to 1TB, Dell Gaming 990 Desktop Computer Optiplex is sure to deliver smooth, lag-free gameplay, and the ability to store multiple games. With a price tag of just $399.95 USD, this will be the right choice for you.

1. Is a $500 prebuilt Gaming PC really good?

Honestly, a Gaming PC under $500 will lack certain premium features. But the gaming PCs on this list should be pretty good right now. In fact, if it was about 3-5 years ago, these PCs are all good. And for now, they still deserve a low budget and still have great gaming experiences. And most of all, with prebuilt PCs like this, you absolutely can easily upgrade them in the future, like RAM or graphics cards.

2. Any advice if I want to build a Gaming PC myself under 500 dollars?

Don’t know of any pre-built AAA Gaming capable systems from major retailers for so little. Built a gaming PC for my niece’s husband the other day out of parts for a little less than 500, but there was no profit margin. Included a 9600k, 16gb ram, 1tb M2 drive, and an open box RX 580. It should be fine for pretty much anything at 1080p. Most of the parts came from a local Microcenter.

A lot depends on the games you want to be able to play and the resolution you would like to play them at. For less demanding graphics you might be able to find a prebuilt system that has a CPU like the Ryzen 3400g with integrated graphics that spares the expense of an add in video card, for less than 500.

Perhaps the best value pre-built systems are simply used systems on the secondary market. Many places sell refurbished off lease business class desktops for a couple of hundred or less. The technology is usually at least 3–5 years old but if you plug in a decent used video card (750ti or better for 1080p) you’ve got yourself a gaming machine. (assuming the case is big enough and the power supply is adequate) The very best deals may be found from early adopter friends and family who are looking to upgrade and get rid of their “old” system.

3. Is there a better option than buying Gaming PCs for under $500?

 

If you want to do PC gaming, you need to understand it's not about the “cheapest alternative.” PC gamers usually prefer the flexibility of a PC and options to mod games (plus it helps to be able to turn off collision control or use other such commands , such as in Fallout 4 when I'd get trapped in a corner behind a car by a game glitch) but the downside is that PC ports of console games are notoriously unreliable. Going with old technology is cutting your nose off to spite your face, and will compound existing issues.

In this case, $500 is really not enough for a decent gaming PC. Well, they actually make dedicated gaming PCs for under $500 in bulk now: they are called XBOX One and PS4. So if you want to stay under $500 just get a refurbished XBOX One or PS4. It's actually a dedicated gaming rig, and will perform as well or better than any $500 PC. Then you just connect to your TV and enjoy the game.

4. How to choose a graphics card that is reasonable with a gaming PC under $500?

Most pre-built Gaming PCs that cost under $500 come with Intel UHD Graphics 630 or higher, which will help you play most games at low profile settings. So choose graphics cards like the AMD Radeon RX Vega 8, NVidia GeForce GTX 1050 and AMD RX 550 (about 2GB).

5. How much RAM is enough?

In fact, high-end Gaming PCs are all equipped with up to 64 GB RAM, or even higher. However, on a budget of less than $500, an 8GB RAM is fine, and 16GB is better. Because the greater RAM means more memory for the program to access outside the CPU. So a Gaming PC equipped with 8-16 GB RAM will give you a decent gaming experience, above all, suitable for a budget under $500.

So we finally found top 5 of the best prebuilt Gaming PCs under $500:

• Best prebuilt gaming PC under $500: HP Desktop Computer, AMD Ryzen 3 3200G. 
• Best budget prebuilt gaming PC under $500: HP Z230 Workstation Gaming Computer Desktop. Having pre-install huge hybrid disk space and RAM, this one could also double as a very excellent pc for productivity work.
• For lower intensive gaming as well as competitive esports: iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop Trace 4 9310.
• For older games and emulations: Gaming pc Desktop Computer White by Alarco is the right choice. It comes with a tempered Glass Side panel and RGB fans which are pleasing to the eyes.
• The best mini prebuilt gaming PC under $500: Gaming Computer, Quad Core 3.7 GHz Ryzen 3200g.

A budget of $ 500 is not a lot, but it should be enough to buy a decent prebuilt Gaming PC, providing a pretty average gaming experience. If you can not invest too much money in your current gaming PC and still want to play games, the above gaming PCs can be a reasonable choice. And in the future, it will be easy to upgrade them later.